Alyssa Valdez on humbling SEA Games experience, future plans

At this point in her career, there’s nothing more that Alyssa Valdez wants than to play for the Philippines.

Fresh from another stint with the National Team in the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia, the four-time PVL MVP spoke of a pivotal point in her career.

“It was really a learning experience. I can say it was one of the turning points of my career,” Valdez told Tiebreaker Times. “It really challenged me as an athlete and as an individual, on and off the court.

“I’m just really happy na I was given the privilege to go through that challenge with that team and group of people.”

The 24-year-old, more than ever, is focused on improving as a volleyball player to advance her career and garner more National Team nods.

The former Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagle, however, realizes that it will take a united effort from everyone in Philippine volleyball to improve their fourth-place finish in the recently-concluded SEA Games.

“Sana we’re all ready, we’re all prepared to really win and fight for our country. The whole team feels this way talaga. We’re really looking forward to seeing each other more often to train and to be able to make a statement na we’re really serious about winning for our country,” the two-timee UAAP champion stressed.

Miguel Luis Flores fell face first into sports writing in high sch9l and has never gotten up. He reluctantly stumbled into the volleyball beat when he started with Tiebreaker Times three years ago. Now, he has waded through everything volleyball – from its icky politics to the post-modern art that is Jia Morado’s setting.

Tough ordeals make historic gold worth it for Ice Hockey Team

Nothing worth it comes easy

And sometimes, the rougher the road, the sweeter the reward is. This is the story of the inaugural Southeast Asian Games men’s ice hockey champions Team Pilipinas.

Last year, the Malaysian SEA Games Organizing Committee announced that they would include ice sports figure skating, short track speed skating, and ice hockey in the program of this year’s Games.

Of course, the excitement was huge for the nation’s young ice hockey squad.

“I just joined the team recently, about a year and a half ago. I went to the Philippines two years ago. I was born here, but I grew up in Canada,” shared Filipino-Canadian Paul Gabriel Sanchez. “Just the fact that people here are playing hockey is a surprise itself.

“The fact that we’re going to Japan for the Asian Winter Games and for the SEA Games, was just unbelievable. Even when we got there, seeing the scale of the SEA Games was just amazing.”

With day jobs and mall hours of SM Megamall and Mall of Asia getting in the way of their preparation, the squad had to make do with what they were given. The forward shared, “We just built on what the team had. Everyone is passionate about hockey. And if you are passionate about a sport, it brings you a long way.”

“What we really worked on those two years, in that short little time was becoming a team.”

Thus, they really bonded on and off the ice. Such unity is important because, “Hockey is a very tough sport. So if you are not ready to sacrifice your body for your teammates, you won’t have a successful tournament.”

The Fil-Canadian almost missed the chance to help the squad, as organizers had initially ruled him ineligible. When the scorer learned about it, he was frustrated. “Even when I was on to Kuala Lumpur on the airport, I didn’t know if I was gonna play. In our first practice, I still didn’t know. We had a motion for an appeal. It was until the end of the practice when I found out that I can play.

“Honestly, it was not a relief. I was actually angry,” Sanchez admitted. “I just wanted to play. So, if anything, I had more motivation to work hard.”

That motivation was evident, as Sanchez and the squad cruised past Indonesia and Singapore in their first two matches. The same determination pulled them past Malaysia.

The Nationals once again had to deal with a huge problem just to fend off the hosts. Just minutes into the first period of the said match, captain John Steven Fuglister was meted a game misconduct penalty which disqualified him from the game.

The skipper recalled, “It was an unfortunate accident. I was going for the puck, and the guy made a last-minute turn and I hit him. I unfortunately hit his head, though it was not intentional.”

After the call, the team was in disarray. But at that stage, they simply needed to keep fighting.

“There was a lot of emotions. Our captain was kicked out of the game. We have to deal with that. Wee have to deal with the crowd,” Sanchez reflected. “And actually I have never played in a crowd that raucous the whole time. I enjoyed it; some might be nerved by it. In the end, I am happy that we got the win.”

It was a nervy end of the match against the Malaysians, as after the Filipinos led 4-1, the hosts grabbed the lead at 6-5. Sanchez then took charge and scored the next two goals to get the Nationals back on top.

He narrated, “I was mad at myself because I had the puck before they had their sixth goal. Luckily I scored the next goals and I scored again in the shoot out.

“I hate losing,” he emphasized. “I can’t stand losing. So, I work as hard as possible. Just focus and know what I do in training will help in our wins.

“Every time you hesitate in hockey, which is a fast sport, you commit a mistake. So, if you focus on your instincts it helps a lot.”

The technical committee had also decided to suspend Fuglister in the final match against Thailand. The captain tried to appeal his case, but to no avail.

He shared, “The PSC and the chef de mission made an appeal to the Malaysian Arbitrary Court. I had to go in front of four judges, but it didn’t work out. They stuck with their decision.”

Nonetheless, the competitive fire in the Philippine men’s ice hockey team members fueled them enough to stun the favored Thais and, consequently, snare that first-ever major gold for the upstart side.

No one is as proud as the Filipino-Swiss captain, who had to watch from beside the bench. Fuglister said, “We played our game. We played a fast, hard skating game that was enough to beat Thailand.

“Lots of heart and lots of fight in the sixty minutes.”

Getting that historic mint bodes well for a team, who were once unheard of by almost every Filipino. Not only are they slowly getting exposure and creeping into the country’s consciousness, the team is building on the win to enter more competitions.

Fuglister, Sanchez, and the rest of the squad are ready to soar in next year’s Challenge Cup of Asia, their first-ever in Philippine soil. And they vow to do an encore of what they did in Malaysia.

Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas Inc. president Peter Cayco was honored by Arellano together with trackster Immanuel Camino and football player Roberto Corsane Jr.

SEA Games gold medalist in hockey Miguel Serrano led the Perpetual contingent together with spikers Relan Taneo and Jack Kalingking, and trackster Francis Medina. Coaches Sandy Rieto and Sammy Acaylar and POC board member Jeff Tamayo were also recognized.

Mapua, on the other hand, were represented by Sean Guevarra and coach Edgardo Alejand, while San Sebastian handed the national team with Melvin Guatre (athletics).

Kobe Paras takes home first SEAG gold 30 years after Benjie did so

Back in 1987, Benjie Paras was an elated 19-year-old Filipino cager. He had every reason to celebrate though, as he had helped the Philippines bag one of their many gold medals in men’s basketball in the Southeast Asian Games.

Three decades later, another Paras bagged a SEA Games basketball gold — Benjie’s son, Kobe, who served as a huge boost for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2017 edition of the regional meet, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

And for Benjie, now 48, he could not be prouder of his son, for being able to replicate one of his achievements in his illustrious 14-year career.

“Masaya of course na nagkaroon ng legacy yung Paras clan,” said the PBA legend to Tiebreaker Times, after the Chooks-to-Go-hosted homecoming lunch for Gilas and Nikko Huelgas, Thursday at the Marco Polo Ortigas in Pasig.

Even the 19-year-old sensation, who will fly back to the United States tonight to continue his studies at Cal State-Northridge, could attest to how proud his dad was after learning that he had won his own SEA Games gold medal.

Clearly, the dad-and-son tandem are now SEAG champions. But for Benjie, he still hopes that his son can emulate some other achievements from his heydays. His wish, for now, is to see Kobe play in the 2018 Asian Games.

“Hopefully if ever he’s going to play in the Asian Games next year, [that would be] exactly (28) years also that we won the silver,” said the only PBA Rookie-MVP, recalling the 1990 Asiad in Beijing where hosts China won the gold.

PTA vows to bounce back after disappointing SEA Games campaign

After a disappointing performance in the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Philippine Taekwondo Association vowed to move forward and set its sights on future international competitions, including the Asian Games in 2018 and the Olympics in 2020.

National team head coach Dindo Simpao said they are now concentrating on their next major tournament, the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, which will be held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan from Sept. 17 to 27.

Simpao said that the AIMAG is a crucial tournament, as it gives them a glimpse of how they will perform in the Asian Games in Jakarta next year.

“We don’t have time because the AIMAG and other qualifying events for the World Championships and Olympics are drawing near,” Simpao said.

“Of course, we need to prepare the athletes and keep them in good condition. We have to avoid injuries and prepare for these upcoming tournaments.”

The 12-man taekwondo squad closed its campaign in the regional meet with two gold, three silver and three bronze medals as they fell prey to a lot of questionable calls.

Their haul is lower than their three gold, three silver, and two bronze medals finish in the Singapore SEA Games in 2015.

“I think everybody will go back to the national pool to undergo another round of selection process by the federation. Then, we coaches will decide on whom to pick per weight category,” Simpao added.

The vaunted squad drew its gold medals from the men’s poomsae squad of Rodolfo Reyes, Jr., Dustin Jacob Mella, and Raphael Mella as well as Samuel Morrison, who ruled the men’s -74 kg kyorugi event.

Rio Olympics campaigner Kirstie Elaine Alora settled for silver medal after falling to a perennial foe from Cambodia in the women’s -73 kg kyorugi event as well as Rhezie Aragon in the women’s kyorugi -53 kg and Arven Alcantara, who suffered a controversial setback in the men’s kyorugi -68 kg.